Nicolás Maduro’s extraordinary journey from presidential palace to federal defendant will take another step Monday when he makes his first appearance before a U.S. judge.
The 63-year-old Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein at the federal courthouse in Manhattan. Both face federal criminal charges stemming from a 2020 indictment updated Saturday by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses. The Trump administration has accused Maduro and other Venezuelan officials of using their government positions to facilitate cocaine importation into the United States.
In a superseding indictment unsealed Saturday, prosecutors allege Maduro led a 25-year conspiracy working with Colombian guerrilla groups to traffic cocaine and weapons. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Venezuelan leaders have allegedly corrupted institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.
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The operation involved strikes on military facilities across Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife, who now face narco-terrorism charges in New York.
Maduro has denied the accusations in the past. The Venezuelan government has called his capture a violation of international law.
Following his capture early Saturday morning, Maduro was first taken to the USS Iwo Jima assault ship before being flown to Stewart Airport in New York. By Saturday afternoon, he had been transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal facility known for housing high-profile prisoners.
Attorney General Bondi said Saturday that Maduro and Flores “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
The Trump administration originally charged Maduro during the president’s first term and offered a bounty for his arrest that eventually grew to $50 million by August 2025. The administration designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization and claimed Maduro leads the group.
According to the indictment, Flores allegedly brokered meetings between drug traffickers and Venezuelan anti-drug officials and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.
Legal experts say Monday’s arraignment will be largely procedural but will kick off what is expected to be a protracted legal battle. Maduro’s defense team is expected to contest the legality of his arrest and argue sovereign immunity as a head of state, though similar defenses have proven unsuccessful in past cases involving foreign leaders captured by the United States.
As a criminal defendant in the U.S. legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as any other accused person, including the right to a jury trial. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
The courthouse appearance comes as Venezuela’s government remains in turmoil. Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume acting presidential duties, though the Trump administration has claimed it will run Venezuela temporarily while tapping the country’s vast oil reserves.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to appear in Manhattan federal court Monday at noon on narco-terrorism charges. The arraignment, scheduled two days after his capture, marks the beginning of what’s expected to be a lengthy legal battle.
